CNet:
There are four ages in Tolkien's works. Lord of the Rings was set in the Third Age, and this series will take place in The Second Age, Amazon revealed in a tweet sent in March 2019. The famous One Ring of Lord of the Rings fame was forged in this time period by the Dark Lord Sauron, who seems likely to be a major part of the new show.
Welcome to the Second Age: — The Lord of the Rings on Prime (@LOTRonPrime)
Amazon's Salke told Deadline, "we're not remaking the movies, but we're also not starting from scratch. So, it'll be characters you love."
But probably not one particular character. Tolkien fan site stirred buzz among fans in May 2018 by that the show's first season would be centered on a young Aragorn. Portrayed by Viggo Mortensen in the Peter Jackson movies, he was an acclaimed warrior and ranger who plays a major role in Lord of the Rings. But that rumor fell flat once Amazon confirmed the Second Age setting, since Aragorn wouldn't have been around then.
It is not yet clear if they're focusing on Numenor in the Second Age, or the Last Alliance of Elves and Men.
(Score: 2) by mendax on Saturday January 18 2020, @10:13PM (5 children)
I wonder what the late and recently lamented Christopher Tolkien would say about such a movie project. It doesn't sound particularly appealing to me.
It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 18 2020, @10:19PM
This is a TV show, not movies, and it was announced in November 2017.
(Score: 2) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Saturday January 18 2020, @11:05PM
Probably something like "the fact that you can doesn't mean that you should".
It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 18 2020, @11:22PM (1 child)
My guess is, "This can't possibly be as bad as those movies based on The Hobbit."
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Sunday January 19 2020, @03:52AM
Yeah, it could be worse.
Tolkien wrote a few tales set in the 2nd age, but much more of the history is just an outline, and the studios are entirely too free to do whatever they want. I see no reason why they won't do the same as they do for everything else: pretty good eye candy, and horrible, horrible storytelling. Cheap "dwarves are short" jokes, childish hobbits who think only of their bellies, cheesy dialog ("now is the age of orcs!"), stupid plot points (Gollum frames Sam for gobbling all the food, and Frodo actually believes that, throws Sam under the bus and goes on trustingly with Gollum?! WTF??), and just silly, slapstick crap.
Peter Jackson is not at the bottom of that. All of Hollywood does it. So, yes, fear the worst.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 19 2020, @01:44AM
It's probably what killed him.